This is the moment crowds of Israelis lined the street and waved flags to welcome home a mother and daughter who were taken hostage by Hamas in Gaza.
Danielle Aloni and her five-year-old daughter Emilia were welcomed home by crowds of people after they were released from being held hostage for 49 days.
People lining the street waved Israeli flags and cheered, while a sound system played the song ‘I’m Coming Home’ as they approached.
The pair were released on Friday in the first group of hostages freed as part of a temporary ceasefire deal.
Danielle Aloni and her five-year-old daughter Emilia were welcomed home by crowds of people after they were released from being held hostage for 49 days
The pair were released on Friday in the first group of hostages freed as part of a temporary ceasefire deal
The mother and daughter were visiting Ms Aloni’s sister and her family at Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7 when they were kidnapped
Moran Aloni, brother of Danielle Aloni, holds a poster in Yavne, Israel on November 3
The mother and daughter were visiting Ms Aloni’s sister and her family at Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7 when they were kidnapped.
Their relatives – Sharon Aloni Cunio, 33, and her husband David Cunio, 34, and their twin three-year-old daughters, Yuli and Emma – are still held hostage in Gaza.
Family members of Israeli hostages have previously described how their relatives ate rice and pita and slept on plastic seats after being abducted by Hamas.
Keren Munder, her son and her grandmother were among those released after they were abducted from their relatives’ home in Kibbutz Nir Oz.
Ms Munder told her cousin that the hostages mostly ate rice and pita and slept on rows of plastic seats – like the ones used in waiting rooms.
She also said they would knock on the door when they needed the bathroom, but sometimes had to wait an hour and a half before they could go.
People participate in a show of solidarity with hostages being held in the Gaza Strip
This is the emotional moment a father reunited with his wife and two young daughters
A pair of IDF soldiers comfort Raz, four, and Aviv, two, following their release
Emily was one of 13 Israeli citizens to be freed from terror group Hamas
Merav Raviv, cousin of Keren, said her aunt Ruthie and Keren’s son Ohad were also taken, but their elderly uncle Avraham was taken separately.
Nine-year-old Emily Hand was finally reunited with her father on Saturday after 50 days as a hostage of Hamas.
The girl, who was initially feared to have been murdered by Hamas gunmen during their invasion of Israel, was filmed running into her father’s arms.
Emily was snatched in her pyjamas on October 7, in which some 240 captives were taken back into Gaza. She had her ninth birthday while in captivity.
On Saturday night, she joined 20 other hostages who were released by Hamas during a four-day pause in the conflict. Her release came after a delay of several hours when Hamas accused Israel of failing to meet the terms of the agreement.
Emily’s capture made headlines around the world after her emotional father, Thomas Hand, 63, initially said he hoped she had died in the October 7 invasion, rather than being in the hands of Hamas.
Since it was revealed she was in fact alive, Mr Hand has been campaigning tirelessly for her freedom.
Mr Hand later revealed she was ‘broken’ after her ordeal, but still in one piece. He also said he had been too scared to hug her tightly – but vowed to throw her the ‘biggest birthday party ever’.
The release of hostages came as part of a temporary ceasefire deal put in place by Qatar and the United States between Hamas and Israel.